Blockchain Yields Strong Potential in Global Supply Chain Management

NEW YORK, January 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

NetworkNewsWire Editorial Coverage 

Investors looking to diversify their portfolios and gain access to the multi-billion-dollar global blockchain industry should have some exciting options as 2018 progresses, particularly when it comes to the $13 billion global supply chain management (SCM) market (http://nnw.fm/5T3Ps). The immutable, distributed ledger technology known as blockchain can deliver numerous SCM efficiencies that could revolutionize logistics for a variety of sectors, including oil and gas (http://nnw.fm/New). Petroteq Energy, Inc. (TSX-V: PQE) (OTC: PQEFF) (PQEFF Profile) has already envisioned this future of networked intelligent devices, and has initiated the development of the oil and gas industry's first dedicated blockchain-based based SCM platform, PetroBloq (http://nnw.fm/b0thV). Investors can also look to diversification into this burgeoning new space via first-movers like oil and gas giant BP (NYSE: BP), and tech companies like IBM (NYSE: IBM), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) and Eastman Kodak (NYSE: KODK).

Because blockchain is ideal for virtually any kind of records management activity, it has the potential to become the backbone tracking architecture for an evolving and fully transparent grid of digitized assets, documents and transactions. This transparency will have a transformative impact (http://nnw.fm/gSj9h) on everything from regulatory compliance to more efficient multi-company collaboration on projects.

BP and Royal Dutch Shell have formed a powerhouse consortium (http://nnw.fm/BJLo4) to deliver a blockchain-based platform for trading energy commodities, while IBM and the world's largest container line, Maersk, have partnered to develop a trade digitization SCM platform built on blockchain technology (http://nnw.fm/5mM2v) for the sprawling global shipping ecosystem. IBM's endeavor in particular accentuates the potential of a dedicated SCM platform like Petroteq Energy, Inc.'s (TSX-V: PQE) (OTCQX: PQEFF) PetroBloq, showcasing the increasing demand and acceptance for such innovation.

Technological Innovation as Core Value Proposition

Real-time, transparent and secure features like self-executing smart contracts, an automatic audit trail for regulators, and the ability to enable peer-to-peer trading models could revolutionize logistics management for oil and gas producers, potentially saving billions of dollars by replacing antiquated electronic and paper standards (http://nnw.fm/DbD8T). In fact, highly localized peer-to-peer energy markets could be right around the corner, forcing utilities in particular to adapt. Encryption-based blockchain platforms will create secure digital records of every unit of energy, piece of equipment, shipment in transit, and contract being traded, while also vastly improving security, reliability and producer/consumer confidence (http://nnw.fm/dDv0W).

For a technology company such as Petroteq Energy, Inc. (TSX-V: PQE) (OTCQX: PQEFF), boldly pioneering cutting-edge blockchain platform tech alongside heavy hitters like BP or IBM is second nature. After all, this is the company that developed a novel, environmentally safe, continuous flow, closed loop extraction process (http://nnw.fm/P9uIt) suitable for both major types of oil sands - a first in North America and possibly the entire world. This proprietary technology is the result of a half decade's worth of intensive R&D, which recently led to a Notice of Allowance from the USPTO and its Canadian equivalent for this technology (http://nnw.fm/F9ZeC).

While the patent itself is new, Petroteq has long-used the technology at its heavy oil extraction facility in Maeser, Utah, where the company produced and sold 10,000 barrels of oil in 2015. The technology is at the core of the ongoing expansion of Petroteq's oil extraction facility which will fully utilize PetroBloq's blockchain-powered supply chain management capabilities.

"Our goal is to create the first extraction facility in the U.S. in which all industrial processes will be powered by our blockchain-based supply chain management system. We have an expansive vision to leverage technology to make a transformative impact on our industry, and we believe in the power of collaboration … We look forward to working with our colleagues across industries and borders to help create lasting improvements in efficiency while being mindful of our environment," Petroteq President Dr. Jerry Bailey stated in a press release issued January 10, 2018 (http://nnw.fm/Qggu1).

Dr. Bailey's experience as head of Exxon in the Middle East adds weight to Petroteq's confidence in blockchain in the energy industry.

Tailored, Modular SCM Designed Specifically for the Oil and Gas Sector

Because PetroBloq will be the first blockchain-based SCM platform specifically designed for

the oil and gas sector, its focus will be addressing the complexities of some of the industry's biggest concerns, such as constantly changing supply and demand values, volatile geopolitical atmospheres, and increasingly stringent regulatory oversight. The oil and gas industry is also one of the most vulnerable to cybersecurity breaches (http://nnw.fm/sEHD8), as 70 percent of companies were to some extent hacked (http://nnw.fm/4Medu) in 2016, a problem for which synchronized and distributed blockchain systems are ideally suited.

"This is our first initiative to address the industry's growing concerns by developing sustainability benchmarks. We believe this is good news for oil producers, regulators, and consumers. Emerging technologies like PetroBloq blockchain platform should have a transformative impact on the global oil industry - not only by creating transparency in the supply chain but also creating value for its stakeholders, upstream, midstream, and downstream," stated Alex Blyumkin, CEO of Petroteq.

PetroBloq is being designed with a full production lifecycle orientation in mind, based on the understanding that such SCM must extend beyond product production and dovetail in real-time with ancillary material, equipment, and service provider supply chains. It must also allow producers to shave crucial percentage points off the overall cost of necessary purchases and services (http://nnw.fm/6bWnC).

The development of PetroBloq is in conjunction with proprietary blockchain technology, cryptocurrency and digital currency exchange developer First Bitcoin Capital Corp. (http://nnw.fm/eDBp9). The nature of this collaboration points to Petroteq's commitment to innovation in the oil and gas sector, and the company's ability to work with partners who understand the future of blockchain.

"Blockchain technology has the potential to change not only the oil and gas sector but also other areas of the global business world, leading to improved and optimized efficiency of the end-to-end business transaction processes," First Bitcoin CEO Greg Rubin explained in a press release (http://nnw.fm/oQWS5).

Leveraging its industry expertise, First Bitcoin chose the open-source collaborative known as Hyperledger Project as the core technology for the PetroBloq platform (http://nnw.fm/tWZ73). Taking advantage of distributed ledgers, First Bitcoin and Petroteq intend to explore ways to optimize and monitor the supply chain logistics on the blockchain to automate oil and gas industry transactions.

Further cementing the company's SCM platform within the market, PetroBloq is part of the world's largest open-source blockchain initiative, the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) (http://nnw.fm/8HsTf).

PetroBloq also tapped two key appointments to the company's advisory board in recent months, landing as an officer and director Dr. R. Gerald "Jerry" Bailey (http://nnw.fm/j1ZQ3), who brings a whopping five decades plus in the international petroleum industry to the table through extensive onshore and offshore work throughout the U.S. and Middle East. The company also welcomed legendary emerging tech company builder, Joseph "Joe" Abrams (http://nnw.fm/liFs1) to its advisory board. Abrams is the man who co-founded Inter-Mix Media, from which iconic, pioneering web brand MySpace was later bought by NewsCorp for $580 million.

More Detail on Additional Diversification Targets

BP (NYSE: BP), through the aforementioned deal with Danish container shipping juggernaut Maersk, is setting itself to become one of tomorrow's heaviest hitters in SCM for the $500 billion global shipping industry. Under heavy consolidation (http://nnw.fm/h28Uc) and reputed as a game for only the biggest players with the deepest pockets, the container shipping industry's day-to-day ground game nevertheless remains logistically hampered. With government regulators and port authorities awaiting shipping information and documentation from antiquated electronic data interchange and paper sources, massive loads of commodities remain in port for weeks or more. The $4 trillion shipping industry (http://nnw.fm/lmuT7) is primed to receive blockchain innovation with open arms.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) has already taken a big lead in blockchain tech for SCM, aiming to reduce cash cycle time, increase transaction visibility, and reduce the overhead and number of cost intermediates (http://nnw.fm/ct4LZ). Customs declarations are seen as a growth market for the technology (http://nnw.fm/5cxPP), due in large part to blockchain's ability to ensure asset transfer integrity across a company's entire supply chain via distributed ledger authentication, a network-driven capacity hailed as the answer to the difficult, costly, time consuming and risk-inviting practice of maintaining such records via antiquated, sole-source in-house methods.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) is often associated with GPU sales to crypto miners who eschew the low power consumption and raw computational efficiency of ASIC architectures in favor of the versatility of standardized hardware and being able to mine different coins with the push of a button. However, the company more recently made inroads into an interesting corner of the blockchain market via the $102.19 billion by 2023 (26 percent CAGR) global data center market, via the company's "Epyc" server chip (http://nnw.fm/2bCY5). AMD's new CEO, Lisa Su, told Barron's in October (http://nnw.fm/UN9vy) that three out of seven top cloud computing companies will deploy the chip this year.

Eastman Kodak (NYSE: KODK) is another mold-breaker here, recently announcing its plans to revolutionize content rights management for photographers via a licensing partnership with WENN Digital (http://nnw.fm/5m4Dm). The plan is to use the newly launched KODAKOne encrypted management platform, a digital ledger of rights ownership, in conjunction with a photo-centric cryptocurrency called KODAKCoin. This one-two punch will enable both professional and amateur photographers to market their work in the $110 billion plus by 2021 (http://nnw.fm/qZXq6) global digital photography space with supreme confidence, on a secure blockchain platform.

Many market analysts forecast that 2018 will be the year that blockchain tech really heats up. Savvy investors will not want to miss this huge opportunity to diversify into blockchain plays that can grant access to the upside, without encountering the kind of volatility now typically associated with the raw cryptocurrency markets facilitated thereby. Blockchain for SCM or digital rights management is a real no-brainer and there will likely be more big news for the oil and gas sector on this front as 2018 progresses.

For more information on Petroteq Energy, visit Petroteq Energy, Inc. (TSX-V: PQE) (OTCQX: PQEFF)

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